The embodiments relate to a plant and a process for the preparation of drugs. The embodiments may find beneficial application in the medical, pharmaceutical and hospital fields, for the preparation of drugs.
The preparation of drugs is a complex process which requires extreme precision in handling and mixing the basic substances used in the formulation of the finished product (drug); in fact, for the correct production of the drug it is of fundamental importance to define precise dosages of active ingredients and excipients.
The preparation of drugs is also a highly sensitive process which requires a high level of care in the treatment of the basic substances and final preparations in order to prevent contamination. It is also to be noted that the basic substances used for the production of the drug, as well as the drug itself, may be toxic to humans (for example, preparations for chemotherapy treatments); it is essential therefore, to provide for safety measures which will prevent the contamination of the operators assigned to the preparation of the drugs.
The process is now delegated to specific installations, generally housed in cleanrooms where a fixed level of sterility of the environment is ensured; in this way, the plant can operate in sterile conditions, protecting both the operators as well as the drugs. An example of a plant for the preparation of drugs includes a casing in which there is a storage chamber and a preparation chamber: the two rooms are flanked and placed in communication through a passage opening located on a divider between those rooms. The storage chamber includes a front opening which allows access to an operator. Inside the storage chamber there is a compartment arranged to receive from the operator various base components (such as bottles, bags or syringes), each containing a substance for the preparation of the drug. In addition the compartment is arranged to receive various finished products (always in the shape of bottles, syringes or bags), containing the drugs arriving from the preparation chamber.
In more detail, the operator, thanks to the storage chamber access, places the base components on special gripping devices for the warehouse; the grippers are located exclusively on a lateral, external wall of the warehouse. The warehouse is arranged to allow movement inside the storage room and to bring the base components loaded by the operator from the front at the passage opening. Within the preparation room there is located an anthropomorphic robot, configured to take, through the passage opening, the base components uploaded to the compartment and bring the latter into the preparation room; the robot is also configured to appropriately combine the building blocks in order to obtain one or more finished products containing medicinal products.
Once it has prepared the drug, the anthropomorphic robot places the finished products, always through the passage opening, onto the compartment which is configured to carry the drugs to the front opening of the storage chamber so that the finished product can be picked up by the operator.
Although the system described above allows for the precise and safe management of dosages in the preparation of drugs, the applicant notes that this known plant is not free from limitations and drawbacks. In particular, it is noted that the compartment, configured to receive the plurality of base components and finished products on an external lateral side, has a limited carrying capacity which consequently impacts considerably on the production capacity of the entire plant, with the need for an operator.
It is also to be noted that the placement of the base components and finished products on a single external side wall of the compartment may cause the operator to inadvertently pick up a base component instead of a finished product (drug), or vice versa, to upload a finished product instead of a base component. In this way, a basic substance may be incorrectly classified as a finished drug or a medicinal product may not be properly prepared; in both cases, the incorrect operation may involve the entire plant, which could lead to the production of incorrect drugs which, if administered to a patient, may affect their health.